Donovan dropping out as Trump's nominee for deputy Treasury secretary

Source: Politico

By BEN WHITE 05/19/2017 02:40 PM EDT

NEW YORK — Jim Donovan is dropping out as President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as deputy Treasury secretary.

The Goldman Sachs executive, nominated in March to serve as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s No. 2, informed the White House this week that he could not take the job due to family concerns. He was expected to play a critical role in helping shape the administration’s tax reform policy through Capitol Hill.

"I am deeply honored by President Trump's decision to nominate me as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” Donovan said in a statement. “However, at this time I want to focus on my family, and I can no longer accept it. I hope to be able to serve this administration in the future and fully support President Trump and Secretary Steven Mnuchin's ongoing work to reform the tax system and grow the U.S. economy.”

Donovan’s departure will come as the administration struggles to push the focus back to its major policy initiatives and away from a series of revelations about the administration and Russia.